Metal & Mainstream

This really isn't any sort of well thought article, just a forewarning, in case you've read some of my other stuff. This is more just a quick thought I wanted to dump into words.

So it isn't just metal that puts itself in another world, it's also people who don't listen to metal considering the genre an extreme as a whole. Metal itself, as a genre, doesn't care though (not that it's sentient or anything), because it gives a voice to literally anyone who ever wants to be there. That's one reason it attracts so many fans. It is not refined to a single thing, a single style or a single way; no, it will allow anyone to do anything, even if it's absolutely terrible... and will likely find at least a small fanbase.

I've thought about this a lot though. What is metal? There's literally genres in metal that are called "noise" or "gaze" which... I can't even begin to explain it because I don't get it. You'd be hard pressed in rock, pop, or hip hop to find a song longer than like 5 minutes... but some doom albums have like 3 songs and are an hour and 15 minutes long. Of course you have genres like grind core, power violence, and tech death... where the foundation for all of it is speed and hard hitting drums. Then there's a "progressive" side (I put it in quotes because I don't exactly agree with the word) of metal where there's a lot of genre bending and unique styles of songwriting. Then there's what some would call the "radio friendly" side of metal, which is metalcore, heavy metal, and basically any band who knows how to write killer clean sung choruses. There's death metal, which in today's world is about the most raw and basic of the metal genres if you can believe it. There's specific genres like melodic metalcore, melodic death metal, power metal, etc. - where the focus is on melody, rather than speed, rhythm, or insanity, but often contains all of those elements in it.

Lyrically, there's no limits. Just none. You have everything from religious to anti-religious, love to horror, struggle and pain, overcoming hardships, death, and tons and tons of stories, anything you can think of you can find it. Heck, there are some genres that just entirely revolve around themes, like power metal.

That absolutely screams the question; then WHAT IS metal really? If it can be all the things, then why isn't it just all the things? Ha, great question. So someone attempted to answer this on YouTube - Trey Xavier. Here's the video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xM77lvEer0I - feel free to watch it. His argument is basically that metal isn't an actual music genre, but it's rather a style. Metal isn't it's own thing, it's just different genres with a specific style slapped on it. At face value, sure, however, I think there's more to the discussion than that. I specifically love his take, but I don't agree with it, I'd consider it a genre. I won't go into that too much here, but I'll use the idea here to present something in a moment.

"If the title is Metal & Mainstream, then why are you spending so much time on what metal is?" - Exactly. Yes. Congratulations. Let me ask a counter question; can you tell me what other genres are? Rap are beats, poetic style fast delivery of vocals, some melody intertwined. Hip hop is upbeat music often using elements of rap and melody to create a point. Rock is a guitar driven genre often with raspy vocals and intense rhythmic drive. Electronic music is meant for dance, using electronic elements and repetitive beats to make people move. Pop is typically melodic, catchy, and sometimes involves other genres, but it's meant to appeal to the masses. Indie usually refers to minimalist style music (meaning 1-3 instruments maybe + vocals) aimed at being emotional. Classical music is historic music that usually involves piano, orchestral instruments, or something like that.

You get the idea. Everyone knows exactly what to expect here. If you like rap, and something is classified as rap, you know what you're getting into. Pop usually enters your ears from everywhere from radio, grocery stores, ads, news, etc. - so you're always being exposed to it. Often genres and music have themes, or artists sometimes have themes that match their style, so you kind of know what to expect going into it. Sure, each artist is different, but there's a theme there. Usually also, these genres and artists typically have a very welcoming fanbase that accepts and allows for just about anything.

Metal is different... it lives in a world all alone. You don't hear it in most mainstream audiences, unless in a negative light or here and there. Sometimes you'll hear it in a fight scene or in video games. You don't have a "Taylor Swift" - esk artist, selling out arenas (though festivals do well). If you get into some scenes, it's outright written off and hated from the get-go. The fashion statements are not trendy most the time, excluding nu-metal (maybe some emo too), and people have no idea what to expect going in. Even then, a lot of folks write off any sort of metal that DOES go mainstream (think Five Finger Death punch, Bad Wolves, Metallica, etc.). Then to double down on that point, what's in the mainstream is written and performed much more like popular music than most metal is (think Bad Omens for example). Sometimes metal bands that do get popular for a moment, only stay a moment because it was just one song, and the rest of their stuff is crazy intense.

Okay okay, yeah so it's not mainstream, I've made my point and I am stopping myself. But I've really dug into why... and here's the thing. If you take time to dig into why, the reasons becomes nearly endless. I could spend the next 3 days writing probably an endless article that would take you a couple of hours to read, but I want to instead be quicker, and highlight what I think are some of the biggest reasons, and I want to do it raw, and try to stop myself from going on actual tangents.

First point; exclusivity. Let's be honest with ourselves as metalheads... we tend to get disappointed, angry, or defensive when metal doesn't click with someone else. I got over that years ago, but I get it. If someone doesn't like the band you've put on for them, maybe it's too intense, the lyrical content doesn't appeal to them, or they just don't like it, we tend to write off their taste, and then resort to isolating ourselves musically from that person. This is different for other genres. If you like rap, and your friend likes say, classic rock... yeah they may not enjoy the rap you put on, but it's all good. Both of you end up tolerating each other's musical taste, maybe even one day learning to like some of it. The passion we also have often isn't shared either, and we become a lot. So all in all, we unintentionally most of the time exclude both ourselves and others from the genre by nature.

Second point; it isn't "standard," it's extreme. I laugh a little bit when I hear metal music reviewers online describe bands like Demon Hunter, or Bullet For My Valentine as "safe." They've been in scene so long that they've been desensitized to what extreme actually is to your average world citizen. It's like a front line soldier - if you've been in war, been shot at, felt the bullets whizzing by your face, had to watch your every move, saw your friends die, and death could happen any second... coming home and dealing with a house payment, isn't really scary. It sucks, but it's not scary. These reviewer guys tend listen to bands like, heck, old Cattle Decap, and then go and tell someone that Cannibal Corpse is an "entry level" metal band. Okay bro, chill. I'll take Demon Hunter as the example. Go listen to their most recent record at the time of writing this; Exile. It's weird, it's different, it contains songs of nothing but screaming, it's got heavy guitar and double bass. Sure, it has catchy choruses, and pretty decent songwriting too. It also contains rock style songs, but the album itself is whiplash and completely unpredictable. It's not Cattle Decap, but to someone who listens to minimalist pop, indie, or country... it's a lot. It's just a straight wall of noise. Even in the case of Demon Hunter, they are extreme to the average person who isn't into metal at all.

Final point, and likely the most controversial here; songwriting isn't good. Metal pretty much writes songs and music for other musicians. Progressive metal isn't out to write something that mass appeals and impacts many folks, they are writing to create something different, epic, or innovative. Thrash isn't writing to gain traction and make relatable music, no they just want to play fast and aggressively. Tech death doesn't aim to solve a problem or express emotion, it's meant to "wow" people with sheer talent. There's loudness wars, extreme wars, and anti-pop type stuff that just really only appeals to those that are literally already there. So you might say "that doesn't mean the songwriting isn't good... it's just not popular." I completely disagree. When you're writing for another musician, you're not making a song, you're making a spectacle. You're making an art for a specific type of person. I am not saying it isn't art, or it's not good overall (I listen to a lot of it), I just recognize it's not songwriting. That's okay. Don't be mad, just embrace it. But if they aren't writing songs, which appeal to the masses regardless of genre, then you aren't going to be in the mainstream. Progressive concept albums you listen to aren't songs... they're art. Think about it. How many people attend art exhibits? Definitely not the masses, but it's art, and people enjoy it.

BONUS POINT: It's often emotionally intense. Most people nowadays listen to music passively, or use it as an escape. When they are looking to connect, they want someone to validate their feelings along with a good song. A lot of metal doesn't do that. Even the likes of BFMV, their songs are about revenge, hurt, struggle, and takes it to the extreme. Dark Tranquillity will make you question some things, and their lyrics are often so poetic, you have listen to it like 12 times to start to connect and look at it. Even Kardashev's new album is a fictional dialogue between entities with a made a up language intertwined with a lot of life altering questions. Most people don't want that. They want to listen to The Wknd talk about having a good time and having sex. They want to yell Taylor Swift lyrics at their ex-lover while driving down the road. They want to feel like love still exists. They want to dance. Some just want safe and unchanging background noise. Some want to listen to rap because they want to feel confident. Metal ain't really any of that. Even when it is, it's clothed so differently, that it's practically inaccessible.

All these points develop the metal genre into being noisy, toxic, and exclusive, so advertising companies, movies, etc. - don't want this type of divisive nature, no, they want to appeal to the most broad audience possible. What's the point of trying to sell to a genre generally split into tiny groups with little in common, and trying to force that on a public that doesn't want to hear it? Why would you associate your brand or product to a genre that isn't typically well accepted? As much as we'd hate to admit it... metal itself is a niche. Much like cyber punk, or indie folk. If you aren't willing to conform yourself to the "anti-conformist" nature of this specific crowd, then why would you ever want to dabble in it? If you don't like the fanbase and culture, then what would make you want to listen to the music?

This is why I stand in a weird place in metal. I like good songwriting, but I also love the extremes and spectacles. So I kind of end up on the sidelines, where metalheads try to gatekeep and criticize my tastes, and the average person doesn't remotely like what I do. Even those who do enjoy the same music, often don't like it as intensely as I do. This has allowed me to see it from the outside. What I didn't even touch on is how toxic a lot of metalheads actually are. I hear all the time that "metalheads are the nicest people you'll ever meet" - yes, until you express distaste or the wrong taste in metal. People tend to poison themselves with "sub-genre" identities and make their entire life and personality about metal, losing themselves in the process.

I'll end this by saying, I am not hating on anyone honestly. I am not hating on metal either. What initially drew me into metal was that I was exposed to it as a kid, but also when I got into it myself, it made me feel powerful and connected where I didn't have it anywhere else. It caught my attention as I was learning to play guitar, and the lyrics drew me in emotionally. I was once a gatekeeper. I was once that guy who's entire personality was metal. I am not anymore, because metal is a material thing, and it will never fully fill your soul. Nonetheless, metal is something unique, it is a culture, and it does provide that connection for outcasts and people who different to exist without feeling isolated. It's a great thing overall.

Anyway, that's my thought dump on why metal isn't mainstream. I'll stop writing and go touch some grass or something. Enjoy your day!